Monday, March 10, 2008

Truck Series Ratings Up At Atlanta

SPEED was happy with a 31% increase in viewership for the Craftsman Truck Series race from Atlanta.

The SPEED TV package for this series did not change much this year. It is a solid and comfortable presentation, sometimes a bit on the dry side. Rick Allen has a certain style of play-by-play, and Phil Parsons and Michael Waltrip share roles of providing commentary and analysis.

Ray Dunlap and Adam Alexander cover both the garage and pits, and are very familiar with all aspects of the series. Krista Voda has been giving this TV presentation a "family feel" since she joined the program, and why she departs from the air after the pre-race show is still anyone's guess.

The series struggles with the lower exposure on SPEED. This is simply due to the cable systems distribution of the network. It is often on the added digital tier or requires a special purchase of a group of sports-related channels. Hopefully, SPEED-HD will eventually bring this network the level of visibility that it needs to grow in the public eye.

The total number of homes watching the race grew from 565 thousand to 753 thousand.

If you are a fan of the Truck Series, or have comments about the coverage on SPEED, please feel free to add them. Just click on the COMMENTS button below. Thanks.

24 comments:

Give me the "dry presentation" any day of the week. They do a great job covering the race. I don't need any extra entertainment. The race itself is entertaining enough for me. The problem with so much sports coverage these days is this desire to add so called entertainment to the package.

Here's hoping the higher ratings are evidence to a new sponsor that the series is worth investing in.

Even though's SPEED's TV crew is excellent, their hands are tied with the very short fields and the low purses likely not drawing top talent beyond the older drivers. Only 6 of the 32 drivers last Friday got more than 15,000 dollars in prize money. The basics of the series need to be reworked for it to get more attention.

There was a late race pit stop that was missed when they called for a commercial break, but i'd bet that wont happen again, but still its a pretty large mistake by SPEED.

As we covered on here during the truck race, there really is a need to keep the weather issues as part of the telecast. Rain showers were all around the speedway all day and I dont see a problem with coming back from a break and getting a peek at the radar to see which way was the rain is moving & late in the race RAIN became an issue. They can be very unobtrusive about it by simply putting the radar in a box lower right or lower left for a few seconds....make reference to it and get rid of it.

JD - I think we were both watching the radar and we saw the rain coming.

I enjoyed the truck race and think that Rick Allen & Phil Parsons do a super job. I sometimes think that Micchael Waltrip goes a little overboard but they all have lots of experience now with the trucks. And Ray & Adam I like a lot both are so knowledgable especially Ray with the craftsman tools. Anyway, I find the truck races great to watch because a lot of the drivers are "still hungry" and Friday nights are great racing.

I started watching the trucks because of Mikey and stayed because of the presentation and the racing itself. Now if they can just get the prize money better so teams can make a decent living we will have a consistant full field. Maybe the new sponser will help. JD I know you would like Krista for the entire race but in what capacity, we all whine about the trips to the Hollywood Hotel, etc. during a race and these races a prety short where would she fit in. Don't get me wrong I love Krista a would like to see more of her.

I've been watching the trucks faithfully for the last few years. Those guys race hard and are very exciting to watch.Rick and Phil have meshed well together but MW seems to go over the top with his false excitement at times.They always seem to have a good balance of pit reporting and are good with talking to drivers who are released from the infield care center.I'm glad they got rid of the creepy music they used last year.It's good race coverage without a bag full of hype. Good for them with their high ratings!! Keep up the good work guys!

The trucks broadcast seems to have hit on a blend of the right ingredients. An increase of 31% is phenomenal and I hope it continues throughout the season. My wife and I also would like to see more of Krista during the entire broadcast but do understand that at some of the races there just isn't enough personnel and equipment to support 3 pit reporters.

I think now that Krista is a veteran of the Fox NASCAR broadcasts, maybe SPEED could put their heads together and figure out how to use her during the Truck Series races a bit better.

Bestwick has proven that an infield studio during the race can work, especially during long cautions. This series also suffers from the lack of a third pit reporter. If SPEED wants to continue to build momentum, stop losing one of your on-site announcers after the first thirty minutes. Give her a role.

IMO, the trucks not only have the best racing in Nascar but the best TV coverage. Mikey can be a bit over the top sometimes, but Phil and Rick keep the reins tight enough to bring him back under control.

I love the simple, straightforward coverage that focuses on the RACE and the racing issues.

I agree about Krista. I don't understand why she doesn't move to a slot on pit road after the pre-race is over.

BTW -- for DirecTV Speed is in the Choice Extra package -- the same tier as The History Channel, Discovery, Disney, The Weather Channel, HGTV, and similar staples of cable programing.

I am still very frustrated about Dish Network not carrying Speed HD yet. I have sent numerous e-mails (to the point where they don't even reply anymore) and have made phone calls. They have NO CLUE when they are going to expand their HD package. If you have the same issue, please write and call them! It is just very disappointing to watch Sprint and Nationwide races in HD, then have to watch the truck series in SD.

If you are trying to decide between Directv and Dish Network, I highly recommend Directv. Again, I am a Dish customer and I am very unhappy that they will not even provide a timeframe for HD upgrades. We deserve to watch the NCTS races in HD!

The Truck race should be an example for the other series TV crews. Yes, Mikey can be over the top, but his enthusiasm is great because IMO, it is sincere. Same as DW. That's why I am a little more forgiving of them. Unlike others we've seen who try to manufacture excitement.

Regarding some of the comments in all of the blogs at this site. I think it is amazing that people at the different networks are actually reading what we have to say and in many cases acting on it. Why do some of the posters here have to do the "angry man/woman" thing and rant on threatening to stop watching (although last year with ESPN it was warrante LOL!). State your issue and offer a solution.

I am a big fan of the Truck Series. I think that SPEED is #1 at covering The Race!

I have always liked how the booth tries to mention every driver, owner, sponsor and manufacturer involved in that race. I believe that goes a long way in attracting sponsors to the series. Every team has fans and SPEED allows them to see their favorite.

SPEED coverage is not perfect; but, it's the closest thing we have these days. :)

Much like all the above folks, I agree that the Truck Series has a great show, straight forward coverage ('cept for Mikey) and now in HD is even better. (Folks, get Direct TV for Speed in HD). However, I am not sure if it's me or not, but the trucks seem to have changed a bit with the addition of the tapered plate that now sits below the carburator and the gear changes in the rear. From what I have seen so far, the trucks seem to be more spread out and not running close like they did last year. Maybe it's the tracks they have run on so far. I guess I will sit back and see what happens on the half mile and one mile tracks. I sure would not want to see them running like the current cup cars.

The Truck Series is the best racing right now that NASCAR has. The pre-race show is the right length and the pit reporters are on the ball with their knowledge. The only improvement I would make is go back to the original announcing team. As they've proven on the Cup side, two's company, three's a mess.